Dropping in needed fire assistance

146th Airlift Wing helps fight fires in Texas

Tech. Sgt. Larry Quinn, an Air National Guardsman based out of Wyoming, refills fire retardant on a MAFFS-equipped C-130J aircraft at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. The system is capable of dropping a 60-foot-wide blanket of liquid fire retardant up to a quarter-mile long.

Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / Air Force

A C-130H Hercules drops a line of fire retardant last month in West Texas. Air National Guard units from throughout the country have been assisting with a massive string of wildfires that have plagued the state of Texas for several weeks.

Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / Air Force

Chief Master Sgt. Sean Farrell, stationed at the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing near Point Mugu, reads a book during flight from California to Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. The crew is going to relieve another team.

Staff Sgt. Abel Medellia, stationed at the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing near Point Mugu, guides a C-130J Hercules into place at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. The aircraft is fitted with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, which can disperse a 60-foot-wide blanket of liquid fire retardant up to a quarter mile long.

Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / Air Force

Tech. Sgt. Christopher Zinc of the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing washes fire retardant off a C-130J Hercules after a day of firefighting at Dyess Air Force Base. The fire retardant is highly corrosive, so it needs to be washed off as soon as possible to prevent damage to the aircraft.

Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / Air Force

Tech. Sgt. Marc Garnsey of the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing near Point Mugu unloads equipment at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Local guardsmen have been assisting the U.S. Forest Service in controlling a string of fires throughout Texas.

Lt. Col. Greg Ervin (left) and Lt. Col. R.B. Allen of the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing return from a week of fighting fires throughout Texas. Air Guardsmen are required to rotate firefighting duties every seven days. The local unit is on its fourth rotation and could continue assisting with the Texas fires for several more weeks.

Three of the Air National Guard's C-130J Hercules aircraft sit on standby at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. The local 146th Airlift Wing has been assisting with a massive string of wildfires that have plagued Texas for several weeks.

Lt. Col. Greg Ervin, a pilot with the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing, surveys the Oasis wildfire near Junction, Texas, as the crew prepares to drop fire retardant from a C-130J Hercules. The aircraft is fitted with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, which can disperse a 60-foot-wide blanket of liquid fire retardant up to a quarter-mile long.

Staff Sgt. Eric Harris / Air Force

Tech. Sgt. Dedri Thomas (right) and Master Sgt. George Ramirez debark at the California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing near Point Mugu after a week of firefighting duties at Dyess Air Force Base near Abilene, Texas. Air Guardsmen are required to rotate firefighting duties every seven days. The local unit is on its fourth rotation and could continue assisting with the Texas fires for several more weeks.